Monday, September 5, 2016

For many years, I have tried to get my artwork into the Fine Arts Show at the MN State Fair. The show receives a huge number of submissions in many different media, and ends up being very competitive. My submissions have been turned down year after year... until now! One of my large charcoal drawings is called We Killdeer, and it is part of the Disturbed Animal Series. This artwork is a pair of drawings of killdeer, done in charcoal with a bit of gesso highlighting on the full bird drawing. Due to the large size (84"x42"), the drawings are framed individually. The piece was conceived and executed as a single work. It was recently shown at Minnetonka Center for the Arts in a group show called Menegerie: Animals in Art. When I submitted the work for consideration at the MN State Fair, I thought that they would not take a pair of drawings, framed separately, as a single work of art, so I just submitted the large killdeer head.

I am delighted to say that my large killdeer portrait was accepted for the 2016 Fine Arts Show. It was on display for the duration of the MN State Fair during a year with record-breaking attendance. Many of my friends went to see the drawing and reported back to me, or posted photos on Facebook of their visit to the show. I am very happy that so many people saw my art this year. I appreciate all the nice things people have said! To top off the State Fair experience, my killdeer drawing won a second place prize in its category. It's been great! Thank you to everyone for your support!